this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 4: labour's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, calls on main political parties to agree an independent system to tackle sexual harassment at westminster. when all the political parties meet, my view is that there should be an element of independence in there, particularly for support as well so people can feel confident about where they can report these things and at the same time how it can be dealt with. the white house downplays a major report by us government scientists which is at odds with the president's stance on global warming. only half of fixed speed cameras in the uk are actually switched on, according to new data. also in the next hour: the threat to wildlife posed by helium balloons and sky lanterns. they're released on special occasions, but campaigners say they‘ re killing animals on land and sea. and we discuss the scandals engulfing westminster and hollywood in dateline london in half an hour.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. labour's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, has called on all the main political parties to agree a new independent system to tackle sexual harassment at westminster. mr mcdonnell said the recent allegations of misconduct by mps were distressing and undermined public confidence in the political system. last night, the conservative mp charlie elphicke was suspended by his party. the tories said "serious allegations" had been referred to the police. mr elphicke said he'd done nothing wrong. emma vardy reports. claims of harassment and abuse

in the political sphere show no sign of subsiding. charlie elphicke, the conservative mp for dover since 2010 is no longer a tory mp, at least for now. last night the new chief whip, julian smith, issued a statement... charlie elphicke‘s anger at how he'd been treated was clear. he tweeted. .. meanwhile, there are still serious questions for labour about the suspended mp kelvin hopkins. jeremy corbyn is under pressure to answer why mr hopkins was promoted to the shadow cabinet even after he was reprimanded following complaints of sexual misconduct from a young labour activist. mr hopkins has said he denies the allegations. today, the party leadership said

thorough investigations must now take their course to reassure the public. we've got to ensure there is confidence in the investigation process, both from those expressing their concerns and complaints, but also those accused as well. i'm hoping now we can start giving the confidence back to people because we are establishing this independent process. and the labour mp clive lewis has strongly denied groping a woman at the labour party conference in september. the allegations that have come to light over the past week are wide—ranging, from a touch on the knee to accusations of rape, and party officials are braced for what could come next, but as the claims and counterclaims mount up, a veteran of british politics has called for balance, saying this unfolding sex scandal is becoming a witchhunt. i don't think there is anybody who would seek to defend rape or sexual abuse. in the context, there is no proof that i can see yet of any wrongdoing.

how does a member of parliament refute that? it's a witchhunt. political parties want to be seen to be acting quickly. theresa may is due to meet party leaders on monday to discuss the way forward. a culture change is taking place in british politics that many say has been long overdue. and emma told me it could be a long time before this issue is resolved parliament. where will this end up? how much longer will it take to run its course? to get through all the hurdles it needs to to really be resolved? the feeling is we are not even close at the moment to coming to the end of this. there may well be more to come out in the sunday papers. many people have compared this to the expenses scandal which created a step change in british politics in 2009. looking at this sex scandal today, we are having to question

whether this might lead to possible charges in terms of police investigations, or if it could result in a by—election, perhaps, the kind of ripple effect that the expenses scandal created in 2009. we are also questioning what organisational changes there will be as a result. there has been lots of reaction today, and over the past week, and the shadow cabinet minister emily thornberry has been expressing her dismay that this could happen in labour. what we need to do, i think, within the labour party, part of the things we need to do, is to make sure our youngsters know we will listen to them, that we will help. that it is not acceptable. they don't need to put up with any of it. we have got to say no to this. they will find friends and allies. people like me who will not put up with this. some of the things i've heard in the last week have been so disgusting.

i am ashamed that this could happen in the labour party. it happens up and down the country, in all walks of life, but we in the labour party hold ourselves to a higher standard. we want to do things as well as we possibly can and this is not the way to proceed, this is not the way to behave. many people have said this is a long time coming. there is no human resources department in westminster, they are self managing. but how do you prove these historical allegations? many people comparing the culture of westminster to being like an old boys' club. they say a light has been shone on that culture and it will be forced to change. but as to how you prove these allegations, we are in a grey area. any body is set up to tackle grievance procedures will have to look at that tricky issue of where inappropriate conduct moves to sexual

harassment and perhaps abuse. in some cases it will be clear—cut and obvious, in other cases it will be more difficult, a grey area to pinpoint. lots of people are questioning when flirtation becomes wanted or unwanted ? how do you define that as sexual harassment? it will be a difficult line to tread. in terms of how these grievances have been handled in the past, criticism that there has not been enough independent oversight, party officials having to investigate other party officials and that being unsatisfactory. whatever is put in place will need to have the confidence of the public, younger parliamentary aides and researchers in parliament, and all at a time when the government is under pressure, and party officials waiting to see what other allegations might emerge. netflix has cut all ties with kevin spacey, who plays the lead role one of its most successful series, house of cards. the company said it would no longer

be involved in the series if the actor continued to be part of it. mr spacey has faced allegations of sexual misconduct from a number of men. earlier this week, production on house of cards was suspended. police in new york say they have a viable case against the hollywood producer harvey weinstein. the announcement came after an actress, paz de la huerta, made claims that mr weinstein raped her twice in 2010. she is among dozens of women who have come forward to accuse the 65—year—old of sexual misconduct. he has denied all allegations of non—consensual sex. richard galpin reports. recent weeks have seen a torrent of allegations against harvey weinstein. and now comes the first word of a possible arrest. new york detectives are investigating a claim by the hollywood actress paz de la huerta that the former movie mogul raped her twice back in 2010 and she has now spoken to the cbs

network in the united states. the new york police say her account is credible. we have an actual case here. we are happy with where the investigation is right now. mr weinstein is out of state. we would need an arrest warrant to arrest him. so right now we're gathering our evidence, we continue to do so every day. already some of hollywood's biggest names, among them gwyneth paltrow and angelina jolie, have come forward to accuse harvey weinstein of sexual harassment. he issued a statement emphatically denying any allegation of nonconsensual sex.

mr weinstein is now under investigation both in the united states and here in britain. like ripples in a pond, the accusations of misconduct against men of wealth and influence appear to be growing rapidly. richard galpin, bbc news. a 7—year—old girl who suffered "critical injuries" in a house in south— west london on friday morning has died in hospital. the youngster was treated by medics at the property in wimbledon after emergency services were called to the scene. earlier today, a 55—year—old man appeared in court charged with attempted murder, but the crown prosecution service are now reviewing that charge in light of the young victim's death. the white house has attempted to downplay the findings of a report which goes against the trump administration's view on climate change. the study, compiled by us government scientists, said it was "extremely likely", with 95 to 100% certainty,

that global warming is man—made, mostly from carbon dioxide through the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. earlier today i spoke to michael grubb, a professor of international energy and climate change at university college london, about the report's publication. this is part of an expected report on a long—term cycle by the us national academy of sciences. i think it would have been almost impossible, it would have created problems for the administration to try and stop it. i am not surprised it has come out or that the administration is trying to distance itself from the findings. these findings are not really new. what do you take from the report? the report is important for two reasons. one, the political significance in the current situation in the us. the other is it does seem to take the consensus science a bit further

in a couple of key areas, one is sea level rise, where the projections, certainly at the high—end, are more alarming than anything we have seen in any equivalent science reports, and the other is something of a focus on extreme events within the us, and pretty unambiguous that heavy precipitation events are both more frequent and more severe, and a slightly more guarded wording, but the same message around extreme droughts. there are messages clearly targeted at the issues of direct concern to the us public. i understand more of this report will come next year. is that right? what can we expect in the next part of the report? i think what we will see is more detail on general assessments and other dimensions of this.

it is interesting to see this process, also in an historical context. it does feel awfully like the first year or so of the bush administration, president and officials elected against the backdrop of a party and lobbying, which had led them to not really believe the climate science, and they said they were sceptical about the global efforts, the intergovernmental panel on climate change, although that was set up under ronald reagan. they turned to the us academy and basically it confirmed what the world scientific community have already agreed and in some cases, it takes it further. we have the un climate change conference coming up in bonn, germany. are you expecting any statement to be made, particularly regards the paris accord and the us? it is a strange situation. president trump has been clear that he intends to pull out of paris. his secretary of state has offered

nuances and ambiguity, suggesting there might be conditions under which that might not go ahead, but nothing can take affect legally for another three years at least. it is an odd situation. it is diminishing the influence of the us in the global negotiations. the rest of the world has already agreed it is carrying on regardless and if someone is saying they are going to walk out of the door, you pay less attention to the interventions in the discussion. do you think statements like extremely likely and 95—100% are enough hard evidence foertrump to start changing their mind? do you think they will carry on regardless in terms of their attitude to climate change? president trump certainly did himself into a corner in terms of

use stands and declarations on climate change but he has been known to change his opinion as well. he has said lots of store by not paying that much attention to scientific advice. he has dismissed a number of the official scientific body is closest to the white house, and by support for the coal industry. it would be hard for him to change a substantive position, but i think it is an issue they would rather would go away and it will ignored as much as possible, but i think the language in this report will galvanise further many states, and many in the us who will say, this is not good enough. we know this is a problem. every scientific assessment says the same and reinforces the concern further, if anything, and in some key areas this also seems to do, soi some key areas this also seems to do, so i think it will add to the momentum of an effect us system overall which is largely ignoring the views of the president. the headlines on bbc news:

labour's shadow chancellor john mcdonnell calls on the main political parties to agree a new independent system to tackle sexual harassment at westminster. the white house downplays a report by us government scientists, which concludes that human activity is the main cause of global warming. only half of fixed speed cameras in the uk are actually switched on — a freedom of information request reveals. and in sport: another win for celtic has seen them set a british record. they beat stjohnston 4—0 and now haven't lost a domestic game in 63 matches — that breaks their own record that had stood for a 100 years. the fa cup first round continues with 27 ties today. one result so far, non—league shaw lane are out — beaten 3—1 by league two's mansfield town. and england laboured to their first win at the rugby league world cup — they beat lowly lebanon 29—10 while scotland were thrashed 711—6 by new zealand. i'm back in the next hour. go to the

bbc sport web—site for the latest on the football scores. ? s. iran says the resignation of lebanese prime minister saad al—hariri will create tension in the region. in a statement at a news conference in beirut, saad al—hariri voiced fears of being assassinated saying the current situation was similar to that when his father rafik was killed in 2005. he also criticised iran and the hezbollah militant group which wields considerable power in lebanon. 0ur correspondent martin patience is in beirut. people here are absolutely stunned, stunned by the resignation, stunned by the fact that the lebanese prime minister resigned not in lebanon, but in saudi arabia. this has injected a great deal of uncertainty into a fragile political scene in lebanon.

you have to take the broad picture. this is notjust about lebanon but the whole region. there are two regional powers that are fighting a proxy war in several countries in the middle east. one is saudi arabia, which backs al—hariri, and the other is iran, which backs hezbollah, a major player in lebanon. this is a country which has largely not been hit by the violence that has convulsed this region in recent years. many people are fearful that the kind of violence we have seen elsewhere could spill onto the streets here. that is the fear. it is not certain that that will happen, but it has heightened tensions between the two communities in this country. any idea as to who is going to replace him? we have got no idea who is going to replace him.

he has submitted his resignation. we have yet to hear from the president of the country. we have yet to have a real sense, other than mr al—hariri's own words that he feared for his life and that is why he is resigning. many people find that pretty extraordinary, because he sat down with members of the opposition, the international cabinet, just a few days ago. some people will be saying, you are talking to these people and now you have gone to saudi arabia to resign. this resignation has raised more questions, lots of questions have now been opened. people will be searching for answers, but whether or not they will get those answers to their satisfaction, it remains to be seen. at the moment, lebanon is staring

into a chasm of uncertainty. people here are deeply worried. a spanishjudge has issued european arrest warrants for the sacked catalan leader carles puigdemont and four of his allies who went to belgium. the five failed to attend a high court hearing in madrid on thursday, when nine other ex—members of the regional government were taken into custody. mr puigdemont has said he will not return to spain unless he receives guarantees of a fair trial. 0nly around half of fixed speed cameras in the uk are actually switched on, according to figures obtained through a freedom of information request to police forces around the country. and at least four police forces don't have any fixed speed cameras at all. alan clayton reports. for motorists caught out by them, they infuriate and bring a hefty fine.

safety campaigners argue speed cameras are lifesavers. new research suggests only around half of the luminous boxes throughout the uk are operational. the press association sent a freedom of information request to all of the 45 forces asking how many fixed speed cameras they had and how many were active. the 36 which responded had a total of 2838 cameras, of which only 52% were working. forces in cleveland, durham and north yorkshire said none of their fixed speed cameras were active. while northants said it turned its cameras off six years ago but left them in place to deter speeding. those that replied said they used mobile speed cameras and regularly reviewed which cameras were turned on. i suspect in this case there thinking that the yellow boxes are there, they're sending out the message that motorists ought to be recognising about risky roads, but they're also increasingly

looking to more advanced technology such as average speed cameras, or indeed better engineering of the road, which might have a more beneficial affect. the national police chiefs council said the decision to use cameras was an operational matter and that all forces have individual responsibility for their use of the cameras. alan clayton, bbc news. more than three billion litres of water leak out of the uk pipe network every day — that's enough to fill more than 1,200 0lympic—size swimming pools. despite efforts by water companies in england and wales to reduce the amount of water lost, it's an issue which doesn't look like going away soon, as tim muffett has been finding out. disruptive... all the roads are blocked off and traffic was maimed, to be honest. and expensive. customers can't come to the shop because we have the flood. when water leaks the impact can be huge.

it took four months to repair this road in birmingham last year. sometimes leaks are easy to spot. underground, they can go undetected for months or years. this is a new approach to a very old problem. we've got the drone attached to a really sensitive thermal camera that's going to be flying the length of the pipe, where we need to trace the leak. this is a demonstration, but anglian water will next week begin trialling a new way of finding leaks. with heat detecting drones in the air, a mix of hydrogen and nitrogen will be pumped into pipes. by putting the gas inside the pipe we can then see that outside the pipe, as if it were emitting from a pinprick in a balloon, and we can see the gas inside the soil. and that's much more easy to pick up on a thermal imaging camera than, say, the escaping water. images of pipes will be carefully a nalysed. it is hoped the tiniest of leaks

will be picked up by the thermal cameras on the drones. it's a far cry from the traditional method of finding leaks that's still widely used. damien, what are you listening for? i'm listening for water escaping out of a pipe under pressure, which will make a whooshing sound. some leaks are caused by old, corroded pipes, sometimes low temperatures and ground movement are to blame. it's a very, very old—fashioned piece of technology, isn't it? this just gives you an idea that there's a leak within the vicinity of where you're working. it doesn't pinpoint exactly where. new attempts to tackle the problem have been welcomed by the consumer council for water, which represents customers. what we see is big companies that make a lot of profit wasting water and that just really winds customers up. next month the consumer council will publish its annual report on leakage across england and wales. leakages have gone up by about 1%. there was a lot of progress immediately after privatisation in the early

‘90s, but that progress has now stopped. some companies have improved leakage rates and different criteria are used to measure progress, but when it comes to cubic metres of water leaked per kilometre of pipe, the worst performers are united utilities in the north—west of england, third from bottom, then south staffordshire water and in last place thames water. its leakage rate is over twice the national average. all three companies told us that reducing leakage was a priority and that more resources were being committed to tackling the problem. but with more than three billion litres leaking from uk water pipes each day, the challenge won't be draining away any time soon. tim muffett, bbc news. there is a warning that the increasing number of helium balloons and sky lanterns being released are a growing threat to marine and wildlife in this country. the objects are often released for special occasions

but their impact could be very serious for animals in both the sea and on land. campaigners say their warnings are still not being heard. dan johnson reports. the litter in our seas, an issue largely hidden. and how it gets there isn't always clear. so look at this, and think about it. where do they land ? what goes up must come down. and the result is trouble at sea. it's wildlife getting tangled in them, the plastic litter is very unsightly. campaigns have been running for years but the message isn't getting through. most people think they are having a great time, we will let balloons off, there isn't much of a problem. but it is when you bring that visual impact that has been ingested and getting wrapped up with bits of string and bits of balloon out of their mouths as well. it could be internal, we find that out when we're able to do a postmortem.

the amount of plastic in the ocean is already a threat to marine ecosystems and sea life. and the truth is, it's impossible to tell how much balloons are adding to that problem. because the impact is out there, offshore, unseen and unmeasured. so balloons get released without consideration of the consequences. it landed in the field, and being curious she swallowed it. and they can be just as deadly on land. jennifer's horse died after choking and panicking. right through here with it tangled up, in her back leg, crashed through this, and broke her neck, and she laid dying for what seemed an eternity. the horse was aiming to be a top showjumper just like her sister here. they don't understand that they are releasing litter into the air, airborne litter, and if anyone dropped that on a pavement they would get heavily fined for it. it is causing untold suffering for animals that are eating them

in the fields and they are either becoming very injured or killing them. conversationalist say they are notjust out to spoil people's enjoyment. we want people to have as much fun as possible but there are other wildlife friendly alternatives they can use instead of releasing sky lanterns. the call is for a wider ban on balloons and people to keep their impact in mind before they drift off out of sight. now the weather. if you're heading out for fireworks, now the weather. if you're heading out forfireworks, prepare now the weather. if you're heading out for fireworks, prepare for it to be be chilly. some cold air rushing in from the north—west. some clear spells tonight, but showers in western areas, some heavy and some

thundery and wintry over high ground across northern england and scotland. some spots in the countryside in the east will see a touch of frost. tomorrow, some showers to start off, but they should fade and by the afternoon most of us will see sunshine. still windy to the south west and north—east. highs of 7 to 11 and sunday night, it will turn chillier, a touch of frost for many central and eastern areas. some spots down to minus 6. a cold start to monday. a largely dry day, rain spreading slowly from the west. hello. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. the headlines: labour's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, has called on the main political

parties to agree a new independent system to tackle sexual harassment at westminster. when all the political parties meet, my view is that there should be an element of independence in there, particularly for support as well so people can feel confident about where they can report these things and at the same time how it can be dealt with. a report by 13 us federal agencies has concluded that humans are the dominant cause of global warming. the white house has downplayed the conclusions. the prime minister of lebanon, saad—al—hariri, has resigned saying in a live television broadcast that he fears for his life. mr hariri's father, who was also prime minister, was assassinated in 2005. now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london.